The invention concerns a nuclear reactor installation with a reactor containment and a lock leading through the containment, for fuel assemblies which are transported end-wise through the lock, on an elongated sliding carriage.
In the installation known, for instance, from U.S. Pat. No. 3,637,096 the sliding carriage has wheels powered by a drive motor of its own, carried by the carriage, and can, therefore, drive itself through the lock on rails which the wheels engage by means of friction. The power necessary for the locomotion is supplied to the motor, which is electric, via a cable which is pulled off a stationary winch. If the propulsion motor at the sliding carriage fails, the sliding carriage can be pulled back by the winch winding up the cable. The stationary winch drive, therefore, is only an auxiliary device here and is usable only for one direction of travel, while its own movable drive at the sliding carriage is used in normal operation.